Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-25

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.

To what extent do you agree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Smoking is injurious to health and causes a number of life-threatening diseases. Hence, smoking should be made illegal. I strongly agree with this perspective. Following paragraphs give arguments in support of my opinion.

Smoking is very dangerous to a person's health. Cigratte smoke contain harmful substances such as nicotin and tar that causes lung cancer, heart disease and much more. Moreover, cigrette contains addictive substances that make quitting difficult. As a result, people buy cigrette in large number due to its addictive nature, which is a waste of money. This is creating economic hurdles for the poeple as most of the money is spent in buying cigrette. Furthermore, hospitals are full of people suffering from fatal diseases developed by inhaling cigrette smoke. This is making it difficult for the government and health ministries to provide healthcare and treatment to all. Also, smoke from the cigratte causes air pollution and affect plants, land, water, animals and passive smokers. For instance, Karachi is a major metropolitian city located in Pakistan. Smoking is very common in Karachi due to which many old and young people are suffering from lung cancer and heart diseases. It is very difficult for the Sindh health ministry to provide treatement to a lot of people. The city also suffer from poverty, air and land pollution. Hence, cigrette should be made illegal.

On the other hand, some people might think that cigrette is a necessity and should not be banned as it helps them to relax and get rid of depression and anxiety. However, this relieve is short term only and the disadvantages are unignorable.

In short, smoking should be made illegal or banned as it creates a number of health, enviromental and economic problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: you strongly support making smoking illegal. You address the health effects and add economic, environmental and public-health reasons, with the Karachi example giving the argument some relevant context. This meets the task well, and the range of reasons shows some development beyond a simple assertion. However, several points are stated rather than explained: for example, the claim that smoking causes poverty and land pollution is not clearly linked to evidence or a specific mechanism. The opposing view—that smoking can relieve anxiety—is acknowledged, but its appeal is dismissed briefly. To strengthen the response further, explain the key arguments in more depth and consider how a ban could address the counterargument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a main paragraph supporting the ban, a paragraph presenting an opposing view, and a conclusion. The sequence of health, financial and environmental effects is generally understandable, and signposts such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “On the other hand” help show relationships between ideas. At times, however, the main paragraph becomes a long chain of claims, and the links between them are not always clear—for instance, the move from smoking-related illness to poverty and pollution. Repeated use of “Hence” and “Also” makes some cohesion feel mechanical. Group related reasons into clearer stages and use referencing or transitions that explain how each point follows from the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “life-threatening diseases,” “addictive substances,” “passive smokers,” and “health ministry,” so the reader can follow the main argument. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “economic hurdles.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural combinations are noticeable, including “Cigratte,” “nicotin,” “metropolitian,” and “unignorable.” Some expressions are also vague or awkward, such as “a waste of money” and “the city also suffer from poverty.” These issues limit precision and make the vocabulary less controlled, even though the intended meaning is usually clear. Check spelling carefully and choose more exact collocations—for example, describe the financial burden on households or public healthcare rather than relying on broad phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple statements and some longer structures, including a relative clause in “substances that make quitting difficult” and a concession beginning “On the other hand.” Most sentences communicate their main meaning, but errors in agreement and sentence construction recur. For example, “Cigratte smoke contain” needs a singular verb, while “the city also suffer” has the same agreement problem. In “substances … that causes,” the verb does not agree with the plural noun, and “This is creating economic hurdles” has an unclear reference. These errors reduce grammatical control, although they do not generally prevent understanding. Review subject–verb agreement and make pronoun references explicit; then practise combining ideas with accurate complex sentences rather than linking many claims in one long sequence.

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